


aguamenti!

by moongirls



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Rivalry, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Hogwarts, Secret Relationship, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slytherin Reader, Tutoring, again probably (idk what im doing remember), am i projecting too much??? no such thing, how do u tag things honestly, i have no idea where this is going so, probably, reader is a Mess, reader is conceited bc im conceited and im projecting, so am i tbqh, wellllll not enemies per se but rivals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 10:11:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11987664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moongirls/pseuds/moongirls
Summary: nobody said sixth year was going to be easy, but you'd sort of assumed it would be for you. a stellar academic record, a slew of extracurriculars, and of course, a lot of talent (not to brag, but you knew it was true). until suddenly, you encounter the first spell youcan'tdo.enter george weasley, your secret tutor. you don't like each other, but you like his teaching, and he likes your money. suddenly, you're a little grateful foraguamenti.





	aguamenti!

**Author's Note:**

> uhhhh this is a self indulgent mess??? god i wish i had a george.... also there's not enough Overachieving Slytherin™ reader out there for my unhealthy snake ass so i'm fulfilling that deficit myself

You skidded into Charms class, your best friend Julia right behind you. Professor Flitwick dropped his wand in surprise, then retrieved it, frowning.

“Tardy again, ladies. That’ll be twenty points from Slytherin,” he said, turning to face you. “What’s the excuse this time?”

“We were talking to Professor Vector after Arithmancy and we lost track of time,” Julia quickly replied. The two of you headed for your usual seats in the front of the classroom and sat down.

Reaching into your bag, you pulled out a notebook and quill and started copying down the notes on the board.

Next to you, you heard a snicker. Frowning, you glanced to your left. To your surprise, you saw Fred and George Weasley sitting next to you, passing notes to one another and drawing multicolored moving doodles. You quietly ripped a piece of parchment out of your notebook, careful not to tear your perfect notes on _Aguamenti_.

“What are they doing in the front row?” you scrawled on the paper, passing it to Julia under your desk. She read it, then shrugged at you, clearly aware of who you were referring to.

Your silent exchange was interrupted by Professor Flitwick, who loudly exclaimed, “Try it yourselves!” The room quickly filled with mumbles of “Aguamenti!” and drizzles of water.

Pulling out your own wand, you sharply waved it and said the incantation, expecting at the least a steady stream of water. Instead, your wand only fizzled and emitted a puff of smoke. Frowning, you tried again, and this time received three drops of water, which landed on your notes. You felt your heart sink, and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed your failure. You knew that Charms was your worst subject, but even here, you had come to expect a certain level of perfection from yourself. Pulling yourself together, you tried again, this time with a slightly stronger movement. You were rewarded with a stream of foul-smelling orange liquid, which you quickly Vanished, hoping Professor Flitwick hadn’t seen it. Looking over, Julia seemed to have mastered the spell, as she directed a fountain of clear water out the window and onto a gargoyle below.

At least there are two others here who won’t be able to do this, you mused. The Weasley twins hadn’t attended half of the previous classes and certainly hadn’t paid attention when they were here. There was no way they could do this charm without the previous preparation. Looking over, you gasped as one twin raised his wand and produced the clear stream of pure water. Just your luck; it felt like everyone in the class could perform the charm except for you.

You spent the rest of class trying and failing to figure out the charm. As the bell rang, you hurried out of class with Julia by your side. You considered staying back to ask Professor Flitwick for help, but discarded the idea, as you didn’t want him to think you were struggling. The same went for your other friends; even if they didn’t tease you about it, your pride would suffer.

On your way out, your gaze caught on a pair of bright-haired heads.

* * *

The next day found you in the library studying for the upcoming Ancient Runes test when you spotted one of the Weasley twins by himself. Remembering yesterday's Charms class, resentment immediately welled up in you that Weasley, who hadn't attended half the fucking classes could do what you couldn't. As you stewed, a plan struck you. Quickly, you transferred your materials to his table.

“Hi,” you said. Always a good starting point. “I’m (y/n). We have Charms together.” The boy was now frowning at you, confused. For the first time, you noticed that his eyes were bright brown. “Yesterday, I saw you do the _Aguamenti_ charm. I can’t,” you continued. Now he looked more confused than ever. You were beginning to realize that your so-called plan was really more of a half-baked idea.

“What are you doing?” he hissed. You flushed at that. It was difficult enough to ask for help; did he have to ridicule you at the same time?

“Sorry, I could be asking you the same thing!” you snapped. “I wasn’t even aware you knew where the library was!” Wait, that wasn’t what you meant to say at all! You needed his help, not his animosity! “Sorry! I didn’t mean that!” you quickly amended. “I need your help with the charm. Can you teach me it?”

Now he seemed to understand what you wanted. Leaning back in his chair, he asked, “Why should I help you? I’m pretty sure one of you snakes hexed my little brother last week.”

Bristling, you replied, “Look, that wasn’t me or my friends. Not all Slytherins are the same, you know.” He opened his mouth to reply, but you cut him off, saying, “And as for why you should help me, I know you and your twin were the ones who spiked Warrington’s pumpkin juice with armadillo bile. I’ll tell Snape if you don’t help me.”

“Are you… _blackmailing_ me?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. He looked almost impressed with you. At your nod, he grinned and said, “Then I suppose I’d have to teach you. You know, if I actually cared about Snape’s detentions.” Smirking, he returned to his book, which appeared to be an introduction to magical explosives.

“Come on, please! I really need your help!” you begged. If he didn’t help you, you would have to ask one of your friends, most likely Julia, and you’d never hear the end of it. Much as you loved each other, she’d jump at the chance to shatter your stellar academic reputation, and you knew it.

“Look, why do you need my help so bad?” Weasley said, now looking vaguely annoyed. “Just ask one of your friends or something.”

“I can’t. Just — please help me. I’ll even pay you, I swear!” At that, he looked up sharply. _Odd; I thought those twins already had a business or something._

“Ten Galleons for each lesson,” he said, now looking interested.

“Do you think I’m loaded?” you snapped. “Ten Galleons when I master the charm.”

“Seven for each lesson.”

“Four for each lesson.”

“Four for each lesson, and another two when you get it.”

Running the numbers in your head, you figured you could probably handle that if you didn’t buy anything at Hogsmeade on the next two trips.

“Deal. When do you want to meet, and where?”

As he thought about it, you noticed that he drummed his fingers on the table, a nervous tic. It was cute, you thought, before quickly forcing your attention to his response.

“Tomorrow, right after dinner, in the classroom next to the statue of Lachlan the Lanky,” he said confidently. You ran it through your head to make sure it wouldn’t conflict with your schedule.

“Sounds good. I think I have a Transfiguration Society meeting, but I can probably skip,” you agreed, adding as an afterthought, “Don’t be late, Weasley.”

You quickly gathered up your materials and returned to your table without looking at him again, hoping no one had seen your conversation. When you hazarded another glance a few minutes later, you were surprised to see that he was nowhere to be found.


End file.
